Steam locomotive engine



June I], 1940. o. w. YOUNG STEAM LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 30, 19,37

June 11, 1940. YOUNG 2,203,975

STEAM LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE Filed Aug so. 1937 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 75 Patente d June ll, 1940 PATENT oFFloE r STEAM LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE Otis W. Young, Winchendon, Mass, assignor of one-half to Henry S. Mann and one-half to Charles D. Young, both of Chicago, Ill.

Application August 30,

7 Claims.

Among the principal objects of this invention a 3 are. the following:

To provide a practical self balancing device for synchronizing theoperation of the driving 5 wheels on a locomotive, and

To provide such a device in which the problem of lubrication is reduced to a minimum, and one whose operating vibrations are considerably less than those of prior devices.

Other objects and advantages will become ape parent as the disclosure proceeds andthe description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which i Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a locomotive embodying the present invention;

Fig.2 is a fragmentary plan view of the underframe of the locomotive showing the manner in which the present invention is applied;

Fig. 3 is a more or less diagrammatic side elevational view of the locomotive embodying the present invention; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the crank axle shown .in Fig. 2, and indicating the crank throw of a conventional crank axle; I Fig. 6 is a diagram indicating comparative! the crank throw of the conventional crank axle and that of the crank axle employed in the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the maximum leverage of the combined side rods as Fig. 12 is a vertical sectionalview taken on the 5 line |2-|2 of Fig; 9; and

Fig. 13 is a vertical sectional view taken'on the line |3l3 of Fig. 9 and showing one of the three throw connecting rods assembled on the eccentric crank.

are selected'for the purpose of disclosure only and are not intended to limit the claims beyond what is required by the state of the prior art.

The demand of the traveling public for higher The particular embodiments of this invention gspeeds has caused railroads to greatly reduce 1937, Serial No. 161,577 (or. loa -s7) a maintained constant high speed, somewhat 10" lower in value than the extremely high speed, without delays.

This latter condition is impossible to attain with conventional steam trains because of the loss of time occasioned by station stops and the 15 material drop in running speeds dueto grades.

Any attempt to overcome this difii 'culty present in steam trains, however, must be made with the remembrance that steam locomotives running at high speeds over the rails produce a terrific pounding action on the rails and road bed. Any increase in this pounding would be very detrimental and would undoubtedly make such a locomotive unfit for high speed service. The problem then is to increase the average running speeds of the conventional locomotives in an efficient manner without increasing the vibrations at high speed. l l

The present invention accomplishes this result by materially increasing the tractive power of the locomotive without otherwise altering the running qualities. 3

Referring now to thefigures, a locomotive embodying the invention is shown in Fig. 1 and comprises a boiler 20 followed by the usual cab 2 I. Along the top of the locomotive are mountedthe usual stack 22, steam dome 23 and sander 24, and at the front end is carried the pilot 25. The locomotive is mounted on driving wheels 2B, 21, 28 and 29, andat the front are pilot wheels 3!], while at the rear. are trailing wheels 3!.

l The frame of the locomotive. includes longitudinal members 32 and 33, one extending along each side of the frame. Cylinder castings 34 and 35 are secured to the framein some suitable manner and are carried by the longitudinal members 32 and 33 respectively. Each of these castings is adapted to carry two steam cylinders, and respectively, Fig. 3, one above the other, and in each cylinder is a piston 53, both operating in oppositedirections. As shown, the upper piston .on each side of the locomotive drives the forward pair of driving wheels, while the lower piston drives the rear pairpoi drivers. i

in turn drive main connecting rods 45 and 4E,

the latter being rotatively secured to the outside crank pins 4'! and 48 respectively. Thus it is seen that the thrust of the pistons is transmitted directly to the driving wheels 26 and 29, which. are furthest from the cylinders. The inner drivers, 2! and 28 receive their power from the driving wheels 26 and 29 by means of side rods 49 and 50 which are secured, one end to" the outside crank.

pins 48 and 41, and the other ends of which are rotatively secured to the outside crank pins 5! and 52, respectively. These-rods are mounted on their respective crank pins by means of yokes 55 in which the pins are journalled and which are fastened; to the ends of the connecting rods in any suitable. manner.

The outside crank pins and connecting rods are power transmitting elements and consequently must be: of sufficient size and strength to withstand relatively large stresses. Also, for mechanical reasons, the throw of the crank pins should be: equal to the piston stroke.

Axles 311 and 38: in the present instance are crank axles carrying three cranks 56, 51 and 58 p'ositioned120 apart, so as to insure perfectly balanced axles. Extending between these axles are three rods 59-, 6t and 6!" each being secured to-on'e of the cranks 5t, 51 or 58', in some suitable manner, as for example by yokes 62, secured to the ends of the rodsby means of nuts 63.

It is the purpose in the present invention to segregate the-driving wheels into two groups, the forward group consisting of drivers 26 and 2'! and the rear groupcomprising drivers 28' and 29. All of? the wheels in the forward. group are coupled together by the side rods t9 so that they rotate in synchronous manner. Likewise the rear drivingwheels are caused to operate together by means of the rods 50; The purpose of the inside rods 59, filland BI is to' couple together the forward and the rear group of-wheels so that should one group commence to slip due to' insuflicient traction between the wheels and the rails, it would be prevented from doing so because of the resistance to slipping of the other group of wheels.

Under ordinary conditions, these inside rods 59', 60 andfi'l are subject to practically no stresses, their function being merely to take up the forces caused by the difference in slippage between the two groups of wheels. These forces are relatively small in comparison with those imposed upon the outside rods 49 and 50, and consequently the throw of the cranks 56, 5'! and 58 need be very small in proportion to the throw of the outside cranks 4.1 and dttwhich is in direct proportion to' the piston stroke.

The comparison of the throw of the conventional crank axle where only two cranks are used with the crank employed in the present invention may be had by referring to Figs. 5 and 6. In Fig. 5, vertical line A-B represents the extreme throw of the conventional crank axle, while the throw'of the axle used in the present invention is the outside dimension of the crank axle. This comparison is impressive in the showing of the diagram, Fig.6, in which the circles B55and. 66 respectively, represent the conventional cranks spaced 90 degrees apart and the outer circle 61 indicates the extreme throw of such a crank axle. The inner circles 68, 653 and w indicate the relative positions of the crank axle in the present invention and the circle ll indicates their extreme throw. This smaller crank very materially diminishes the vibrations of the locomotive while traveling at high speeds, thereby lowering the cost of track rnaintenance.

As indicated by the dotted lines l2 and 13 in Fig. 3 and by the showing in Fig. '7, the outside cranks 41 and 48 situated on one side of the locomotive are set at an angle of 90 degrees from the corresponding outside cranks operating on the other side ofthe locomotive. In the locomotive having a 24 inch cylinder stroke, the maximum leverage of the twoside rods is 1'? inches, as shown. in Fig. '7, while the combined leverage of the three throw connections with only a 10 inch circle of the crank axle is 8 inches. Furthermore, when using three rod connections instead of two, the difference between the'maximum and minimum leverage is very much less.

The crank axle shown in Figs, 2 and 5' is the usual type of crank which may be machined from a soli'dforging. The modified form of axle, which may be termed a balanced eccentric axle is shown in Figs. 8: through 13, and includes an axle shaft 'M' extending: the full length of the crank axle, an eccentric bearing casting or sleeve 15 provided with three crank bearings '56, I! and 18 positioned 120- degrees apart, and two grease plugs 19. I

Before the parts are assembled the axle shaft H! has a centralportion 80 extendingbetween points C and D which has a' uniform diameter throughout its length slightly greater than the diameter of the remainder of the shaft. Shoulders 99'on the axle'l l have a diameter no greater than that of the central portion 86. of the axle so that the sleeve 15 may be passed over the ends of the axle. At each end of the shaft wheel seats 8| are provided upon which. the driving through the axle shaft, having a uniform diameter between approximately the shoulders 99' of the wheel seats 81' but having a greater diameter through the seat portion as shown at 83. The passage opening in the end face of each axle is countersunk as shownat 84'. These enlarged portiioriis5 89 of the passage are threaded as indicated a In assembling the parts of the eccentric crank axle the casting I5. is shrunk onto the enlarged central portion 80 of the axle shaft, and keyed in place by means of keys 86 fitted into suitable keyways cut into the axle shaft and the eccentric casting, and then if desired, the casting may be welded to the axle shaft as indicated at 87. The bearing surfacesof the eccentric cranks l6, H and I8 are then turned down, a portion of the' axle shaft M being removed as indicated at 88. At no time, however, is the diameter of the eccentric bearings 16, ll or 18 made less than the diameter of .the journal bearings 82.

Inserted into the passage 33 through each of the enlarged ends 89 is a grease plug 19 having a long shank 9'! and a head 92 secured to the end of th e'shank machine screw 93. The head 92 is provided with a longitudinal passage 94, the inner portion of which is adapted to receive the shank of the screw 83, and the outer portion 85 ilar square shaped slot is insertedinto the passage after the grease plug has been admitted.

The surfaces of the crank bearings 16, 11 and T8 are in communication with the passage 83 by means of ports 98 extending radially from the passage so that grease which is stored in the passage 83 will pass to the bearingsurfaces to provide proper lubrication,

I claim as my invention:

1. In a locomotive having a plurality of wheeled axles, at least two of which carry driving wheels,

a separate source of locomotive power for each pair of driving wheels, an eccentric bearing sleeve mounted on each of the last named ZZtX18S,LCh

sleeve cooperating with its corresponding axle to form an eccentric bearing with an eccentricity less I than the diameter of the axle, and a connecting I rod disposed between the two axles and journaled on the bearings. i

2. In a locomotive having a plurality of wheeled axles, at least two of which carry driving Wheels, a separate source of locomotive power for each pair of driving wheels, an arcuate groove in each of the two axles between the opposite ends thereof extending circumferentially around the axle for a portion only of its circumference, an eccentric bearing sleeve comprising a pair of'spaced collars concentrically mounted on the axle, one on each side of the axle groove, and an arcuate bearing portion between the collars extending partially around the axle circumferentially and on the diametrically opposite side of the axle from the groove, and a connecting rod extending between the said two axles and journaled on the eccentric bearings, the grooved portion of the axle and the bearing portion of the eccentric bearing sleeve together serving as the bearing for the connecting rod.

3. In a steam locomotive supported on a plurality of wheeled axles, at least two of which carry driving wheels, two steam cylinders on each side of the locomotive, one of the corresponding cylinders on each side drivingone pair of driving wheels, the other of the corresponding cylinders driving the other pair of driving wheels, an cccentric hearing sleeve mounted on each of said last named axles, each sleeve cooperating with less than the diameter of the axle, and a con necting roddisposed between the two axles and iournaled on the bearings, said sleeve being so arranged with respect to the axle that the axle may be passed entirely through the sleeve.

5. In a steam locomotive supported on a plurality of wheeled axles, at least two of which carry driving wheels, two steam cylinders on each side of the locomotive, one of the corresponding cylinders on each side driving one pair of driving wheels, the other of thecorresponding cylinders driving the other pair of driving wheels, ,an eccentric bearing sleeve mounted on each of said last named axles, each sleeve cooperating with its corresponding axle to form an eccentric bearing with an eccentricity less than the diameter of the axle, and a connecting rod between the said two axles and journaled on the bearings, each of said sleeves being arranged with respect to its axle so that it maybe passed over the end of the axe and fitted into place.

6. In a locomotive supported on a plurality of wheeled axles, at least two of which carry driving cooperating with its corresponding axle to form an eccentric bearing with an eccentricity less than the diameter of the axle, and a connecting rod between the two axles and journaled on the eccentric bearings, said sleeve being so arranged with respect tothe axle that the axle may be passed entirely through the sleeve.

7. In a locomotive supported on a plurality of wheeled axles, at least two of which carry driving wheels, a separate source of locomotive powerfor each pair of driving Wheels, on eccentric bearing sleeve mounted on each of said two axles, said sleeve being removable fromthe axle,

and a connecting rod between the two axles and journaledon the eccentric bearings.

OTIS W. YOUNG. 

